Types of Knee Replacement Surgery for Osteoarthritis Patients

The largest bone joint has the biggest bones in the body. The knee joint is the strongest joint in the body. The lower end of the femur, upper end of the tibia, and the patella come together at this joint. Direct contact between the bones could prove painful. We have the slippery cartilage tissue to cushion and protect the bones where they meet. You also have two meniscus, wedge shaped pieces of cartilage that absorb shock.

Damage due to arthritis

The knee joint remains surrounded by a tissue we call the synovial membrane. This is a thin lining containing a lubricating fluid. This fluid lubricates the cartilage thereby reducing friction. At times, the joint may undergo damage. The most common reason is arthritis. You have three kinds of arthritis – rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and posttraumatic arthritis.

The one that occurs most often is osteoarthritis. Most of the people who have this type of ailment are over 50 years of age. This wears down the tissues and causes pain and swelling. He cushioning between the bones decreases up to the point where the bones begin to touch each other. Then, the pain starts.

Need for surgery

The answer to the question, “Why Undergo a Knee Replacement Surgery?” is that the pain becomes unbearable due to arthritis. The person is unable to move around. They experience stiffness in the knee joint. When you have a knee surgery, the pain vanishes. The person is able to move around again.

Another chronic disease that affects the knee joint is rheumatoid arthritis. When the arthritis occurs at many joints in the body, it is rheumatoid arthritis. When the person has this affliction, the synovial fluid in his knee swells up. This results in stiffness and pain. This is an autoimmune disease. The immune system attacks the body tissues and destroys them. It also makes the bone soft.

To rectify the damage, one must undergo knee surgery. The surgeon will recommend a partial or a total knee replacement surgery after studying the condition of the knee. We use the knee implant made of plastic and metal. It lasts for 25 years if not more. You will only need one replacement to last through your lifetime.

Importance of choosing the gender specific implant

Males and females need different types of implants. This is because the shape of the knee is different for both. You can see more material on this subject on the Zimmer Biomet blog. This is What Happens during Knee Replacement Surgery. The surgeon removes the parts of the bones damaged due to arthritis. He then caps both the ends of the bone with capping teeth. This is the prostheses. The prostheses material is either plastic or metal.

The pieces now move in a smooth way without any friction. The knee joint becomes functional. The unicompartmental knee arthroplasty is the second type of surgery. In this, one of the three compartments of the knee is alone involved.

Lateral compartment – outer knee.

Medial compartment – inner knee, this is the part that touches when legs are together.

Patellofemoral compartment – the front part of the knee. The kneecap touches the thigh bone.

After the surgery, the patient must not put undue force on the knee. He or she will undergo a series of physiotherapy exercises to help improve the healing process.